Baby, You'll Be Famous
by DrunkOnJerichohol
Summary: Chris Irvine is a big rock star - - huge - - and all celebrities are bound to have a disastrous run-in or two with the rather invasive paparazzi. In an unforeseen turn of events after a rare, ornery outburst, Chris comes to find he should have reverted back to one age old adage in particular - - patience is a virtue. (Definite AU)
1. Paparazzi

**Disclaimer**: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Any and all original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.

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Breakfast was every morning at 8:30 AM.

Lunch was every afternoon at 12:30 PM.

Dinner was whenever she got around to it.

It was something of an American dream to make a cross-country move to Los Angeles at the tender age of 18 - - whether to pursue a career as a singer, actor, model, or any combination of what proved to be the three most popular occupation choices in the entire city. The Hollywood lifestyle wasn't for everyone, but for some, it stuck like glue. Stephanie McMahon's life plan had called for a move to LA, in addition to the set tasks of attending an expansive list of casting calls and landing as many modeling gigs as she could muster. What Stephanie received, instead, was a flying curve ball of a full-time job that had been hit straight out of the ballpark of fate and into her awaiting lap.

Against her better judgment _and_ the wishes of her parents, the split-second high school came to a close, Stephanie made her escape from the posh Connecticut town she had grown up in for almost her entire life and flew across the country to California. Los Angeles practically hailed itself as the reigning land of opportunity and, as an exuberant 18-year-old in 1994, not a single obstacle bore the skill to hold her back from her dreams. After six years of depending on wired money from her parents and accepting paid modeling gigs on the side, Stephanie came to terms with the realization that it wasn't going to be as easy to make it in the world of runway modeling as she had hoped. It wasn't until she had one foot out the door, so to speak, and was fully prepared to tuck tail and dash back to Connecticut that Joel showed up.

Her fellow Californian had tried his hand at modeling and ran in the same circles as Stephanie, striking up a conversation with her at a casting call, and after an affinity formed between them and Joel felt relaxed enough to approach her with an idea, he invited her inside the often-scandalous world of the paparazzi. It wasn't a profession Stephanie ever dreamed for, but she gathered the money was solid - - so she would no longer have to rely on her parents in excess - - and it would beat scrambling on top of hundreds of gorgeous, slender girls to win over the uptight agents at model castings. The rest was history, and from then to present day 2007, she clung to the bumpy ride Joel was taking her on, occasionally partaking in a joined effort while other times she spied solo to snap some of the most sought after celebrity pictures imaginable. With their budding, round-the-clock camaraderie, it was a wonder it took them so long to recognize they shared a connection worth exploring.

Showing her support of the home team in the form of a Los Angeles Lakers ball cap, Stephanie jumped to attention when her cell phone vibrated in her left pocket. Without discarding the high definition camera in her hand, she fished her phone out and answered the call without looking. "Hello, Stephanie McMahon."

"Wow, so formal. How are you this fine Friday morning?"

"Sorry, I didn't check to see who it was. Howdy, partner," she bantered. The owner of the suave voice on the opposite end of the line was her longtime boyfriend and business partner, Joel, and an inadvertent blush warmed her cheeks as he followed her greeting up with a lecherous purr. While their relationship began in a platonic enough fashion, after a stretch of chasing after celebrities and basking in the joy of snagging the latest shots of them, their friendship had matured into a much more special bond, and their past seven years of superstar hunting and three years of dating had been the happiest in both their lives.

"What are you doing, baby?" Joel quizzed, although it was fruitless since he knew exactly what she was up to.

"What do _you_ think?" she questioned coyly, with an unconscious tilt of her head. Even when she wasn't there to see him in person, Stephanie's body language always took on a sexually suggestive tone when she spoke to Joel. He brought out the sassy fire in her.

"Spying on some celebs?"

"You win!" she laughed. "It's funny how I've been doing this with you for seven years but I still feel guilty about watching people. I've read comments online where people are like, '_the paparazzi are one of the lowest life forms around. Why don't they just get a life?_', and it makes me feel bad about what I do sometimes. Am I too old for this?"

"You're never too old to chase celebrities around. This is like a dream job, Steph," Joel reminded her. "Think about it - - we set our own hours so we can stop and start working whenever we want, we work for ourselves so there's no boss telling us what to do, and we make damn good money selling this stuff to the tabloids. Don't start getting a guilty conscience now."

"I'm not. It was just something I was thinking about, that's all."

"No worries, we all have our doubts. Who have you gotten today?"

"So far?" Stephanie paused and bit her bottom lip self-consciously. "Actually, I haven't gotten anyone today."

"Are you staking out somewhere?"

"I'm outside of the Hilton in Beverly Hills. A few bands are playing at Whisky a Go-Go tonight, and I got word that some of the guys from those metal bands are staying here. I haven't seen any of them yet, but it's almost lunch time, so I figure they'll be coming out soon to go eat. I'll even move my lunch back a little if I need to."

"Nah, don't bother. Tell me what you want for lunch, I'll bring it to you, and we'll check the hotel out together until we get some shots of the guys. We're too experienced to go home empty-handed today. We have to get pictures of _someone_."

"I know."

"So what does my brilliant, beautiful girlfriend want to eat?" Joel followed up.

The midnight blue Escalade slipping into the parking space beside her about half an hour later, just in the nick of time for her self-scheduled lunch slot, alerted Stephanie to Joel's arrival. Though his tinted windows prevented her from having a decent view into the vehicle, Stephanie raised her hand to wave, nonetheless. In the time it took to position her camera in the backseat, Joel had exited his vehicle and was slinking around to the passenger side door of Stephanie's. She pressed the automatic locks to allow him entrance and salivated when the spicy tang of sesame chicken infiltrated her senses.

"Hey, hop in," Stephanie motioned Joel forward, and he stepped in eagerly, but not without pausing to lean across the seat and drop a kiss onto her lips. The crunch of the brown bags sounded as he balanced them on his lap while reaching out to shut his door.

"Just to forewarn you, I got a whole lot of extra food, so we'll have leftovers tonight if you get hungry again."

"Well I just might eat it all right now because I'm _starving_," she exaggerated, stretching the word out agonizingly slow as she reached across the seat for one of the bags in Joel's lap.

"Where's your camera?"

"I put it in the backseat when you showed up," she jerked her thumb in the general direction, and he reached back to retrieve the item while she rummaged the contents of their lunch. Stephanie pulled out the first carton she came across and discovered the very sesame chicken she had been after. While she was busy enjoying her lunch, the metal group that would soon become the object of her camera's affections were consorting in their hotel room, hidden just beyond the confines of a rather lush display, as to what their next move should be.

"It feels weird to be in a hotel room instead of on the bus," Rich expressed.

Between his index and middle fingers, he held steady to a tuft of the flowing curtains covering the lone window in the room he was sharing with Chris. They always chose each other as roommates whenever the decision arose, but it wasn't a shot at the other boys. Chris and Rich's friendship extended to nearly a decade prior, and along with that kind of history came a shared solitude that couldn't be duplicated. Paul, Billy, and Frank understood their bond and made it a point not to take it personally but, rather, realize they didn't share the same rapport. It was for that reason the other three had nary a problem rooming in the suite just across the hall, and perhaps it was for the best, because the constant drumming of Chris's fingertips against the wooden kitchen table would have been enough to drive them from the lull of a restful sleep and straight into the brink of madness.

"Are we gonna go rehearse, or what?" Chris asked, more agitation seeping into his tone than intended.

"In a few hours, but the gig isn't even until tonight. Calm down, dude," Rich released the curtains from his grip and turned around, a half-full coffee mug tucked away in his right hand. The worry lines etched into Chris's forehead were a dead giveaway that his whole vibe was off. He wasn't the type of person to grow anxious before a gig - - not with the tenure they had as performers. "Why are you so petrified over something we've done a million times?"

"I'm not _petrified_," Chris shot back, his fingers forming air quotes as he repeated the word and scowled from the bad taste it left in his mouth. "It's just that I have some of the guys coming to see me, and I want us to be good."

"Who's coming?"

"Miz and Maryse, MVP, and a whole bunch more people I can't think of."

"No reason to lose it. Our music is gonna kick everyone's asses, but only in the best way. Let's go grab food before it gets too late, 'cause I don't think I can wait much longer."

"Should we check one more time to see if the guys are up?"

"They weren't up ten minutes ago when I went over there," Rich shook his head. "Tell you what - - you go downstairs and get the car started, and I'll go across the way and wake them all up. It shouldn't take more than five minutes, and if we're not down there by then, you can leave without us."

"Sure I can," Chris rolled his eyes and chuckled. Pushing off the sides of the chair he had been occupying, Chris reached across the table to grab the rental car keys they had tossed there earlier. After stretching his arms, he turned to the clock and spied the time as he let out a satisfying yawn, discovering it was well after noon. It was no wonder his stomach was grumbling so loudly and begging for the satiation of what had grown into an overwhelming hunger. "See ya soon."

"Yeah," Rich replied over his shoulder as he stepped out of the room first and strolled across the way with the key card for the room opposite them.

Hands shoved in pockets and mind wandering to the uncertain events that would play out when evening fell, Chris shuffled to the bank of elevators at the end of the hallway and stepped inside the unoccupied car, pressing for the ground floor. The steel tiles of the elevator floor were met with a series of aimless kicks from Chris's shoe and escaped the abuse only when he arrived on the bottom floor and made a swift exit. The keys jingled in his hand while Chris used his free one to adjust his black-and-white plaid scarf. Growing up in Canada, he learned if you wore a scarf pretty much year round then you would never fall sick, and that was paramount for him as a lead vocalist.

For as long as he could remember, Chris had been known solely as a wrestler, but while stepping away and taking a desired rest, he, and the rest of Fozzy, gained respect as a group. A bright future lay ahead of them in the music industry, and to keep that momentum soaring to its fullest potential, Chris had to protect his voice by any means necessary. Alcohol had always been one of his main vices, but he was making a conscious effort to slow down on the booze, avoid cigarette smoke inhalation, and keep from raising his voice too often. The latter of those options was apparently going to be the harder of the three, which he didn't realize until he walked out the door and fell, instantly, into the path of a forthright photographer.

Not bothering to give the pest a single glance, Chris continued to his car. On a different day at a different point in time, he likely would have been much more accommodating to what she was after, but the mixture of hunger and exhaustion was clouding his better judgment. The scratch of gravel underneath his shoes mingled with the exerted breathing of the woman taking his pictures, and he would have much preferred the chirping of birds or rush of traffic to what he was hearing. If the woman had known what was good for her, she would have sealed her lips because, while picture-taking could be tolerated, conversation-making could not.

It appeared she hadn't received that particular memo.

"Hi, Chris, it's great to have you in town. Are you and the rest of Fozzy excited to play tonight?"

His angelic side longed to give her the polite answer and send her on her merry way, but the devilish side of him had come out to play. "I wouldn't be here if I wasn't, right?" he answered shortly.

"How has your time in LA been?"

"It was great before you shoved your camera in my face," Chris snapped, knowing full well he was taking his nervous energy out on an innocent bystander.

Be it gumption or plain old oblivion, she forged ahead. Giving the woman the cold shoulder was rather hard since his peripheral vision was awarding him a decent view of her. The sight that met him from the corner of his eye was an attractive woman with long hair, and while he generally preferred blonds, she seemed to be making a case for brunettes quite well. Even _that _wasn't enough to save her from his growing wrath.

"So do you have any—"

"Look," Chris interrupted, holding a hand up to shield himself as he stood directly behind his vehicle, "I'm not in the mood to talk, so take the pictures you need and scram or, I don't know, maybe go find a real job or something."

Stephanie was crestfallen, her greatest worries about her job confirmed as she lowered her camera, and when Chris finally got a clear view of her, she was...

Alluring.

Stunning.

_Breathtaking_.

It wasn't Chris's MO to present himself so crudely to fans, paparazzi, or anyone else he came into contact with, and while he wasn't sure what possessed him to do it, he knew one thing for certain - - his behavior had been a huge mistake. Her lengthy tresses fluttered in the wind, offset by her steely blue eyes that were glossed over with an emotion he presumed to be mortification, and that brought them into a rather odd standoff. Chris staring at her, her staring back at him until, finally, she spun around on her heel and rushed away. It wasn't yet obvious to him where the intense pangs of attraction were emanating from, but they were getting stronger all the time, bringing him to one final conclusion.

Chris had to know her, and, yet, he felt as if he already did. There was a familiarity in their shared gaze, the intangible kind he couldn't quite find the words to describe, and his mind began to fragment bits and pieces of past times together to help him along in his journey of uncertainty. The woman had been a pretty face, absolutely, but there was a quality that drew him to her that was wholly outside of her physical appearance. It only took a few seconds more to click, and when it did, it was like a punch to his gut.

Vince McMahon had a daughter Chris had only met in passing on scant occasions, and although it took him a while to recall where he had seen such a strikingly beautiful face, the memory never left him completely. In all the discussions he had taken part in with Vince, the one thing that stood out to Chris was the disappointment in his boss's eyes whenever he mentioned the life his daughter had chosen. The job itself wasn't what upset him so much as that she hadn't cared enough to stay close and be a part of the family business the way Shane had. When Chris combined all the facts, he concluded that Vince had a daughter who lived in Los Angeles, which was precisely where _he_ was at that very moment, and she worked as a paparazzi and bore a remarkable resemblance to the woman he had just blown off...

The photographer wasn't just a regular old paparazzo.

It was Stephanie McMahon - - and he had torn her to verbal shreds for no reason other than his own atrocious mood.

"Hey," he lowered his hand, but she was already darting away, so he raised his voice. "Excuse me! Hey, would you wait a minute?" he called out. Stephanie carried on without missing a beat, and after shoving the keys into his pockets, Chris started to jog after her. "Hey, hold on!" he cupped his mouth to increase his volume, but his run came to a screeching halt when he slammed into a solid body and found Rich staring up at him in a daze.

"Who the hell are you talking to, bro?" he asked. The other guys were standing behind Rich, and they all seemed to be scanning the entirety of the parking lot to find the object of Chris's attention but were unsuccessful. She was already gone, and with her escape, she sunk Chris's heart in a matter of seconds. He would not rest until he found her and apologized, and not just because his discovery of who she was, but because it was the noble thing to do.

"Nobody, it's nothing," Chris replied distractedly as he pulled the car keys back out of his pocket and made a listless attempt to guide the guys in the general direction of the car. "Come on, let's go eat," were the words he spoke, but his eyes gave away his preoccupation with something entirely different.

As his gaze fell further down the parking lot, he caught a glimpse of her once more, but it was only long enough to make out her backside as she rushed into an awaiting vehicle and subsequently pulled out of the parking lot.

Come rain or shine, sleet or snow, he was going to find Stephanie and make things right.


	2. Home Is Where the Heart Is

"Hey, look at me," Joel tipped Stephanie's chin with his fingers and forced her to look him in the eye. She leaned back against the side of their vehicle while he pressed his torso into Stephanie's and rested the very tip of his nose against hers. "You've gotta tell me what's wrong at some point, babe."

"Nothing," she answered flatly before breaking eye contact with him.

The rapidly sinking sun cast an effervescent mixture of violet, orange, and blue across the California sky and set the tone for what Joel had expected to be an exciting evening. Being the bold photographers they were, the plan had been to drop in at the Whisky a Go-Go to enjoy the concert, after which they would sneak back to the car to retrieve their cameras and snap some shots of the guys exiting the building at the conclusion of the show. The plan was pure brilliance in Joel's mind, because it would kill two birds with one stone, which were to have a rocking night with great music _and_ to further their status in the photography world by capturing winning pictures. Some huge stars were in the house, and they would undoubtedly make a killing off the guys whose picture they were lucky enough to snap.

The difficulty set in where it concerned the melancholy storm cloud that had wandered over Stephanie's head and began pelting her with rain droplets. Ever since she had left the car outside the hotel to take pictures of one of the guys earlier that day, her mood had shifted to one Joel wasn't easily able to understand. His best guess was that someone had made a comment towards Stephanie that she hadn't taken so well, because he recognized her to be quite sensitive with regard to her job. It was an occupation that made her unsure of herself, but he strived to make her see it didn't have to be that way.

The only person who had the power to stop Stephanie from living up to her full potential in life was herself, and Joel was positive she would continue to do great things as long as she kept her head on straight. It occasionally grew difficult to ignore the hateful comments they received while being a part of the frowned upon paparazzi clan, but for every person who shunned their line of work, there was another who understood their role in Hollywood and supported their ventures. As Joel stood spying Stephanie's downtrodden face, he felt for her but also reminded himself he couldn't help if she wouldn't let him in. He had been asking her what was wrong all day and, each time, she turned him away.

"You know, Steph, there's only so much I can do if you won't talk to me," he pointed out.

Joel followed that up by nuzzling her nose, and she reached up and ran her fingers over the sides of his close-cut, raven hair. He shifted against her and his keys jangled on the chain hanging from his jean pocket before coming to an abrupt halt. The kindling sunset added an extra splash to his forest green eyes and danced off Stephanie's oppositely blue ones. She leaned forward the extra inch and captured his lips, in a move that instantly drained her body of its tension. Sometimes all she needed was to be close to someone she loved and trusted.

Joel let out a low purr as he leaned further in and slipped his left arm around her back while his right hand reached up for the end of her ponytail, which he twisted around his index finger to tug her head in a backward motion. He did that long enough to expose her neck before giving her lips a rest and raining tender kisses on her skin. Her heavy eyelids slipped down over her pupils as she tossed her head back and held Joel around his waist. It was only a short while later that he pulled away, and she groaned her disenchantment with the sudden loss of contact.

"Can you tell me what's wrong now?" Joel inquired. His eyes were hopeful when Stephanie met his gaze, and she couldn't deny him any longer.

"When I told you I was getting out of the car to shoot pictures of Chris Jericho at the hotel, I didn't tell you this before, but he got mad at me."

"What do you mean?" Joel scrunched his nose.

"I was taking pictures and trying to make small talk with him. I thought he knew who I was, since we've met before when I was backstage at my dad's shows, but he either didn't recognize me or didn't care," Stephanie paused and pursed her lips as wrinkles formed in her chin and it began to quiver just the tiniest bit. "All I was trying to do was get pictures, but he told me to hurry up and finish taking the shots and then he said..."

"Then he said _what_?" Joel asked defensively, his chest instinctively thrusting itself forward. Nobody messed with Stephanie and got away with it, and if he found out Chris had been out of line, some definite fighting words would be exchanged before the conclusion of the night. Stephanie was much more of a lover than a fighter and wouldn't approve of his plans to duke it out with anyone, but he wasn't prepared to let some guy disrespect his girlfriend and live to tell about it. "I'll whoop that guy's ass, I don't care how much of a badass wrestler or rock star he's supposed to be. Tell me what he said to you."

"No, never mind, because you're just gonna go crazy," Stephanie tucked some windblown hair behind her ear and crossed her arms. Joel grabbed them and brought them back down to her sides before persisting.

"I want to know what he said to you. He's the reason your entire day was ruined, and if I find out he was out of line, shit's gonna go down."

"Joel, no!" Stephanie scolded as she leaned her forehead against his chest. He stroked her back and sheltered her from the wind that was picking up, quite noticeably, since the sun began lowering. The parking lot was alive with people from all walks of life, coming together to watch live sets from some of their favorite bands. Everyone was headed in the direction of the building, and Stephanie couldn't help but think if they didn't get in there soon, they wouldn't be able to find a decent seat. "I don't want to talk about this anymore. I just want you to make me feel better like you always do when I'm bummed out."

"You tell me what he said or else I'll wait out here all night until he leaves and confront him myself."

"I don't want you to do that!" Stephanie cried again as she picked her head up and ran a hand across her cheek in frustration. "Don't you get it, Joel? I _don't _want you to say anything to him, okay? I wasn't telling you about this so you could start a fight, I just wanted to talk. I want you to make me feel better by talking to me, not going and fighting him. Can't you just listen and understand?"

Joel, not typically one to back down, relented with a simple nod in order to please Stephanie, "I won't do anything you don't want me to do, but I really wish you would tell me what he said that's got you so upset."

"He told me I need to...he said I need to get a real job," she admitted.

Stephanie bobbed her head multiple times following her words, albeit involuntarily, as she pressed her lips together and willed herself not to fall apart. Her greatest fears had been confirmed by someone whose opinion she actually valued, oddly enough. While she didn't know Chris well, all the WWE wrestlers had a soft spot in her heart, whether it be from her own personal experiences with them or funny stories her family had relayed. Deep down, she craved their acceptance for reasons she wasn't entirely able to understand, but Chris's words had cut a lot more deeply than they would have if they came from someone else's mouth.

"Oh, baby..." Joel cringed, her pain resonating deep within him as he held her in his arms and kissed the top of her head repeatedly. "You can't let a jackass like that hurt you. Who gives a shit what he thinks, huh?"

"_I_ do," she whispered, silently berating herself for allowing a tear to slip past the invisible barrier around her eyes.

Stephanie was in a tough business and couldn't afford to have such thin skin and still expect to succeed in the vicious world of the paparazzi. Outside opinions touched her on a deeper level than she would have liked, and Chris's words were just another bullet point on the expanding list of reasons Stephanie was rethinking her lifestyle. She was growing older, and chasing after celebrities had been an adventure when she first began, but the time had long since come to settle down, and possibly even start a family. She didn't see a way she could realistically accomplish that while continuing with the job she currently held, and for the first time since before entering high school, Stephanie considered asking her dad for a job.

Regardless of how dire situations appeared, there was always a back up plan with regard to her family's company. The WWE was a monstrous corporation constantly seeking help in the day-to-day operations, so there was no reason she couldn't convince her dad to hire her. In that moment, it seemed so simple to just dial his number, say the word, and enter a stable and respectable position no later than the following Monday. It would break Joel's heart if she left him behind and, at the current point, he was the sole driving force that restrained her from making a sudden move, but the time had come for change.

"Why the hell would you care what he thinks?" Joel asked as she rested her head against his shoulder and stuck to him like a leech. Being in his arms made her feel protected from all the wrongdoing in the world, and she never wanted to lose that.

"I don't know, I just do," she answered before reaching up to wipe at her face.

"Please tell me you're not crying."

"I'm not."

"Look at me," he requested.

"No."

"Stephanie..."

"Fine, I _am_ a little bit, but it's not a big deal," Stephanie responded. "I'm just emotional because of everything. I want to be happy, and I'm so glad to be with you, but I've always felt like something was missing from my life. I came to L.A to be a model, you know? Not to run around chasing stupid celebrities and taking pictures of them. I don't want to do this anymore, it's degrading to my character."

"You're just upset, that's all this is. It's the depression talking."

"No," she pulled away just enough to make out his face, which remained half-lit under the glow of the crescent moon, mixed with the backdrop of the final remnants of a glowing, quickly disappearing sun. "I know what I want, and it isn't this. I love you, and I don't want us to be apart, but I think I need to see what else is out there. I want to go home to visit my family and then I can go from there and decide what my goals are. I'm so sick of this."

"You weren't sick of it before. You only feel that way because some guy who doesn't know shit about your life told you to do something else. Are you really gonna take orders from a random person who doesn't even matter in your life?"

"No, it's not about that."

"Then stop being this way. We agreed this was what we wanted to do, and now we're living the dream. If you have any doubts about that, just go look at our big ass house, or go look at our nice cars, or go look at the expensive clothes in our closet," Joel pointed out.

"Yeah, but you're naming all material things, and life is about so much more than that," Stephanie said. "I can have the biggest house, car, and wardrobe in the world, but if I'm not happy inside, none of those things are gonna be enough to change the way I feel. I'm trying to tell you, from the bottom of my heart, I've been hurting for a long time. This is only coming out for the first time, but it's not about Chris. What he said brought it to the surface and made it come spilling out, but these are worries I've had for a super long time. I wish you would at least try to understand me."

Joel scoffed and rolled his eyes, "I would try if you weren't allowing some guy to control your life. He doesn't have anything to do with us, yet you're ready to tuck tail and run just because he doesn't approve of what you do for a living. Who the hell cares if you have his approval or not?"

"You're not listening to me, Joel. You're just not getting me," Stephanie covered her face with her hands while Joel slapped the side of their vehicle in anger with the palm of his hand.

He was fed up, and Stephanie could feel the tension, but it had gotten to the point that she was equally as riled up. The only person she had to please was herself, and Joel could be along for the ride or not, but there was no backing out of searching for her destiny. It would hurt a great deal not to have Joel by her side for the remainder of the journey, but she wasn't walking away from him. If they broke up, it would be the result of _him_ giving up on Stephanie instead of helping elevate her in the fight to reach her real dreams.

"You're right, I don't get a single thing you do or say. Are you comin' in with me to watch the show or not?" he asked, rather coldly, and as easily as he was able to make Stephanie feel on top of the world, he held the same power to bring her crashing right back down to the unforgiving ground. All she craved was his support, but he was behaving like a typical, emotionally-withdrawn man, and she wanted no part of it.

"I don't feel like going in there anymore."

"Thanks a lot," Joel shook his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose with his right hand. "Can you at least come in with me so I can keep an eye on you and make sure you're okay, if nothing else?"

"I'll be fine. I'm just gonna get back in the car and wait until the show is over."

"And do what?" he quizzed.

"Call my mom since I miss her, and maybe catch a nap. I don't know, I'll figure it out," she waved his question off. Her hope was that he would empathize with her position and stick around to comfort her. She willed him to hold her in his arms and rock her for as long as it took to chase her worries away. Instead, the jingle of his keys sounded once more as he grabbed at the hook and unattached the ring from his keychain.

"Stay in the car if you want, but I'm going inside," he said before handing the keys off to her and waiting while she stood beside the vehicle.

Stephanie hit the power lock button and climbed into the passenger seat before shutting the door and locking it. Once Joel saw she was safely inside, he turned on his heel and strode towards the club without even a backward glance. If ever there was a time when Stephanie had morphed into a small child who needed her mother all over again, it was then. She picked up her cell phone and scrolled through her list of contacts before locating Linda's number and pressing the call button. They spoke at least once every day, usually in the mornings, but this was one of the rare occasions that once wasn't enough.

Stephanie breathed a sigh of relief when the call was picked up and she was awarded Linda's placating voice from the other end of the line, "Hello, my darling. Is everything okay?"

"No, I wish it was, but it's not. I'm so ridiculously sad, and I talked to Joel just now, but he doesn't understand me."

"I'm sorry, honey. Sometimes men are like that and nothing you say gets through to them. Tell me what's wrong," Linda encouraged.

"I think I want to come home."

"To visit?" Linda asked, although there was a hopeful hitch at the end of her question that implied she hoped for the opposite. Her parents made no secret of their desire for her to make a permanent return home and had been begging her to do that ever since her initial move, over a decade earlier. Stephanie was beginning to think there was something to her parents instincts and that maybe they hadn't wanted her in Los Angeles because they knew it wouldn't work out the way she needed in order to find true happiness. In that moment, her parents hopes and dreams for her were at one with everything she so desired, and Stephanie no longer cared to make a secret of it.

"No. I think I want to come home for good."


	3. Closed, Ended, and Tossed Away

Stephanie's final day as a paparazzo - - for the foreseeable future, anyway - - was spent _not_ taking pictures of celebrities, but sitting in the parking lot of LAX as she fiddled with the ends of her tousled hair. Her plane ticket, much to Joel's chagrin, had been purchased earlier that morning, and she left their house on the heels of a draining argument with him, which stemmed from her plans to leave. To sum it up, Sunday was not turning out to be a good day for Stephanie and, more than ever, she craved the comfort of being home with the people who loved her most. Her camera had been resigned to the backseat, and that temporary holding spot was where it remained as Stephanie struggled to find the strength to go inside the airport and seek out the people whose pictures could make her piles of money.

She lacked the drive to earn additional cash for her bank account, not only because she and Joel had already made enough in their years as amateur photographers, but because she always had the financial support of her family to fall back on. Nothing she chased after in life had ever been about making money - - her choices concerned seeking the path that would bring her the most happiness, and so far she hadn't succeeded in finding it. Leaving Joel would put a hole in her heart that couldn't be filled by anyone else, but Stephanie knew she would be back for him, though it would likely only be for a visit. Her plan was to convince him to move to Connecticut, or at least to a neighboring state, so they could be near one another.

The downside of moving, for Joel, would be that the paparazzi couldn't make much of a living outside of Los Angeles, but Stephanie wanted him to realize there was so much more to accomplish in life than what they were doing. They had the potential to make their wildest dreams come true, but they weren't going to achieve it by running around taking pictures of people who held more significance in the public eye than they ever would. The clock crept towards lunchtime and, under normal circumstances, Joel would be calling Stephanie to find out what she wanted to eat so he could bring it to her, but his call hadn't come at the regular time. He was apparently still too worked up from their disagreement to enjoy lunch with her, and Stephanie was feeling more alone than she had in a long while, so she fell back on the safety net of calling Linda.

After dialing Linda's cell phone number, Stephanie sighed deeply and pushed some hair away from her face as she watched a scattering of people walk through the airport parking lot - - some of them appearing quite bemused as they tried to recall where they had parked their cars while they were away. Linda's voice interrupted Stephanie's focus a few seconds later when she answered the call, "Hi, sweetheart, is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me," Stephanie spoke, her solemn tone giving away her feelings of hopelessness.

"I can't wait to see you tomorrow. I've already got a whole day planned for us," Linda spoke excitedly, and Stephanie's eyes glazed over as she thought back to all the times past she had spent with her mother. She missed out of valuable years she would never be able to get back with her, all because she chose to stay in Los Angeles and waste her time with what she now felt was only a dead-end job.

"That sounds really good, I can't wait," she replied, her voice clogged with tears. Linda picked up on Stephanie's somber mood right away, be it intuition or the obvious dip in Stephanie's inflection. Hearing her sound so upset only added to Linda's struggle with living so far away from her daughter.

"What's the matter, honey? You're happy to be coming tomorrow, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but Joel is being so difficult. We had a fight this morning, and I feel awful. I just want to come home and see you guys, I don't even want to be here anymore."

"Oh, that must be so hard for you, but I know Joel loves you. He's probably just feeling hurt because you're leaving him there to come back home. Did you try explaining to him why you think this move is such a good idea?"

"I tried, but he doesn't understand. We left the house angry with each other and he hasn't called me since. We normally have lunch together, but he didn't even call to ask what I wanted so he could bring it to me like he normally does. I guess we're going to be over after I leave."

"How does that make you feel?" Linda wondered.

"I'm not happy about it, I mean, I really love him a lot, and he's done so much for me. I don't really see there being any other way though, because I'm not into the whole long-distance thing. I know people do it, but I find it ridiculous to act as if we're boyfriend and girlfriend when we're not even going to be living in the same state or seeing each other in person. How would that even work?"

"You're right, it wouldn't work, and I say that based on experience."

"I thought Dad was pretty much your only boyfriend though."

"He was."

"But I thought you guys were never apart. You struggled with the long distance thing?" Stephanie perked up at that, hoping her parents' relationship had mirrored her own enough that her mom would have some sound advice. She didn't want to make a clean break from Joel, but if that was what it took for her to be happy and work for a company that made her feel complete, she would be willing to let him go. It would hurt for a while, but not as much as the regret of settling in for a life she wasn't entirely content with.

"We did, but it was more after we had you and Shane that the issue came up," Linda explained. "Your father was starting to take over territories and gain experience in the wrestling business, and it took him away from home a lot more than I cared for. I told him how I felt, and he started finding ways to bring all of us on the road as a family so I wouldn't have to be alone. We also bought a house in Cape Cod and lived there for a few years so we could be closer to him. If he hadn't made the extra effort, I don't know that we would be together today."

"So what you're saying is Joel will have to compromise and find a way to see me in person, or else we won't work?"

"It's only my opinion, but, yes, that's what I'm saying."

"He's mad at me for wanting to leave, and I don't think I'll be able to convince him to come. I just worry that our relationship will be cut short and I'll lose what I could have had with him. I always thought I would marry Joel and we would have kids and settle down here, but now I'm not so sure. I think as I get older, I'm finally getting to that point where I notice everyone else my age has settled down, and I want to do it too."

"I think you should, but don't rush yourself," Linda said before adding, "Oh, and while I'm thinking about it, the oddest thing happened the other day, and your dad wanted me to ask you about it."

"Sure, what is it?" Stephanie inquired.

"Chris Jericho called him up and was asking questions about you."

"Chris Jericho?" Stephanie frowned. She couldn't come up with any specific reason he would have to ask her parents about her. While their last encounter hadn't been great, there wasn't anything more to talk about, and if there was, it seemed he would have simply asked her parents for her number so he could contact her himself. "What did he want to know?"

"That's what your dad couldn't figure out," Linda replied. "Chris was asking how you were and when the next time would be that you would attend a show. Your dad told him he wasn't sure, but it seemed as if Chris was trying to find out when you would be around so he could see you, but you two don't even know one another that well, do you?"

Stephanie swallowed the lump in her throat and managed to speak, "I think I know what it's about. We sort of had a...not-so-good encounter this past week in L.A, which is when he was here to play with Fozzy. He said some stuff to me before he realized who I was. I left and I could hear him calling after me, which is when I assume he noticed who I was, but I didn't give him a chance to apologize. He probably wants to say he's sorry, but I don't need him to. He told the truth, anyway."

"The truth about what?"

"It's nothing," Stephanie dismissed.

She didn't want to cause a riff between Chris and her parents, because the fact still stood that he was a great wrestler who brought a lot to the table and had done wonders to help build the WWE to the monstrosity of a company it was. If she were to tell her parents what he said, they would view him in a different light - - one in which he had hurt their baby girl - - and Stephanie didn't want them to hold such an isolated incident against him. Chris had been having a bad day, as everyone did from time to time, and there was no reason for him to be punished for that. While she wouldn't have chosen for someone to be so critical of her job, he had opened Stephanie's eyes to the fact that what she did for a living wasn't fulfilling to her in any way.

"If you exchanged words with him, you can tell me about it."

"No, it wasn't anything serious, Mom," Stephanie assured her. "He was just having a bad day, so the last time we saw each other was a little rough, but we're fine."

"Well, your father told him you were planning on flying home this week and that you would probably be at the next show, so Chris is dropping in at Raw to visit," Linda said, causing Stephanie's eyes to widen like saucers. Her mouth fell open in a gape as Linda continued, "I don't know what he has to tell you, but whatever it is must be important if he's making the extra effort to come to Raw this Monday. He's not even a part of the active roster right now, because he's still technically touring with Fozzy."

"Oh, wow, I don't know what to say."

"He's really going out of his way with this. There must be one hell of an apology he owes you for that bad day," Linda estimated, speaking in such a way that let Stephanie know she was prying for the full details. There wasn't much to say about the incident though, and Stephanie wanted to leave it in the past, precisely where it belonged, so she brushed over Linda's persistence.

"I guess so, but I don't hold anything against him," she said before switching gears. "I wish you were here right now so we could go have lunch. I feel all alone."

"Don't feel that way, precious. You go have yourself a good lunch and, at this time tomorrow, Daddy and I will be taking good care of you. We love you, okay?"

"I know," Stephanie nodded, finding a way to smile through the chaos. "I love you both too."

When the first set of fireworks went off at the top of the show on Monday night, Stephanie was immediately right at home. Having arrived in Connecticut early that morning, Stephanie boarded the private jet with her parents and made it to the town Raw was being held in. She and Linda spent the day catching up on their lives, enjoying gourmet cuisine, having their nails done, and shopping - - all the way up until it was time to head to the arena. Joel hadn't called Stephanie since earlier that morning, when he checked in to see that her flight arrived safely, and it was disconcerting to Stephanie that he would be so quick to cast her away.

In her mind's eye, she and Joel had always been incredibly close, so for him to stop calling her just because he wasn't thrilled with her personal choices was a major shot to the gut. Ever since he found out she was planning on flying home, he had stopped being attentive, and the final day she spent in Los Angeles with him, they had basically been strangers who happened to live in the same home. Stephanie was hoping she could smooth things over with him the next time she visited, but there was still the question as to what they were. While they hadn't officially broken up, Stephanie could sense trouble on the horizon and was already preparing herself for the heartache that would undoubtedly accompany the loss of someone she loved.

Vince occupied the seat next to her and was speaking to the announce team through his headset, attempting to feed them lines, as the show went live on the air. The first segment of the night was set to begin, featuring World Heavyweight Champion Batista, and Stephanie settled in to watch. She had been more of a casual wrestling fan for most of her life, much more deeply engrossed in it as a child than an adult. The guys had welcomed her back with open arms though, and the warm reception she received from everyone in the backstage area upon arriving at the arena that afternoon brought her faith that things would work out for her.

They raised her spirits by banding together to convince her as to why she should become a permanent fixture in the backstage area and work for Vince. It was a confidence boost to know so many people wanted her around and, while they could have been pumping her up to win brownie points with their boss's daughter, there was a genuine vibe to their efforts that assured her that wasn't the case. She was surrounded by people who desired her presence, and the thought of being able to do a job she wasn't publicly shunned for - - at least, not often - - was encouraging, to say the least. Linda had stood back and watched the goings-on with a smile, and Stephanie caught Vince gazing wistfully at her more than a few times over the course of the past couple hours.

Being so close to them, the decision didn't seem difficult at all, but then again, Stephanie had been aware of what she had to do long before she was willing to admit it to herself. She couldn't string Joel along when she could see, quite clearly, that their paths were branching off in two completely different directions. They wanted the same things out of life from each other, but had set completely different personal goals for themselves, and there was little to no chance a relationship like that would ever work. It scared Stephanie to think she would have to start back at square one in finding a mate, but she was willing to do it for the good of herself and Joel.

As she kept her eyes trained on the monitor, a headset came into view in her peripheral vision, and when she glanced over, Vince wore a look of pride as he held it out her. Stephanie leaned in to kiss his cheek in a show of appreciation before taking it from him, ecstatic to be included in the production of her family's show so early on. To be a part of the WWE was to be surrounded by a group of people who wholly believed in all of her abilities, and it lit a sweltering fire underneath Stephanie to start putting some additional effort into learning the ropes. There would be no more chasing after celebrities for her, not anymore.

She listened in as Vince gave cues to the announcers and made requests for them to fit certain lines in for the viewing audience to hear. Stephanie could almost imagine having her own office, her name written boldly across the door plaque, as she sat behind her desk working on...whatever task her father would entrust her with so early on in the game. Her first guess was that he would allow her to sit in on creative meetings, but it might take a while for her not to feel out of place being in a room with all the experienced writers. They had worked together for so long and knew each other so well that it could take a hefty amount of time for her to fit in, but she looked forward to getting to know everyone.

Just as the program was gearing up for its first commercial break, Stephanie reached out for a sheet of paper and a pen, planning on passing Vince a note to let him know she was interested in a permanent position working alongside him, but she was stopped in her tracks by a sudden shoulder tap. Stephanie turned around in her chair to find a rather guilty-looking Chris smiling down bashfully at her. He ran one hand through his spiky hair while he motioned with the other for her to remove the headset, so she did as he requested and faced him. Warmth spread rapidly through her cheeks as she recalled their last meeting and how much of a dweeb she must have come off as.

"Hi, Stephanie," Chris spoke up, taking the initiative to greet her first. He was self-conscious, that much she could tell, from the discomfort showing in his facial expression to the way he shuffled back and forth on his feet.

"Hi, Chris. It's good to see you," she said.

The truth was, it _did_ feel nice to see him up close and personal in a way that wasn't destructive to her self-pride. His smile widened at her words, and she stood from her chair and stuck her hand out. From what she had gathered, a handshake was the expected greeting of most of the guys in the back and was the most acceptable way to say hello. Chris waved her hand away and leaned in for a hug, holding her an extra few seconds longer than he had in their past greetings. When they pulled away, Stephanie noticed her dad was turned around in his seat watching them, and Chris must have noticed as well, because he appeared apprehensive.

"Do you think I could have a word with you in private?" Chris inquired.

"Sure, we can go right down here," Stephanie motioned down the hallway, but not before Vince rose from his seat and stuck his hand out.

"Jericho, nice to see you," Vince greeted. Chris said a few kind words in response before Vince's attention focused and he honed in on the two of them. His eyes narrowed with suspicion as he glanced first at Chris, then Stephanie, and recalled the odd phone conversation he had with Chris a day prior. "Do you two even know each other very well?"

"No, not really," Stephanie shook her head.

"Nope, only in passing," Chris echoed.

"It seemed like you really needed to talk to Stephanie when you called me the other day," Vince noted as he folded his hands across his lower abdomen. "Any particular reason why?"

Stephanie observed the show returning from commercial break over Vince's shoulder and pointed to the monitor, "Dad, Raw is back."

Without another word, he rushed to his seat and threw his headphones back on, and Stephanie grinned at Chris and said, "I'm good at knowing how to distract him. If the show needs his attention, he drops everything for it. I haven't been around backstage very often in the past few years, but that's one thing I remember well."

"Uh..." Chris's eyes darted around and, somehow, he had seemingly grown even more uncomfortable than before, "this is a little weird, and I'm not even scheduled for this show, but I came because I needed to talk to you, and I found out from Vince you would be here. I just wanted to apologize for what happened."

"It's okay."

"That day outside the hotel, I was already anxious about my show later that night and sort of irritated, plus, I hadn't had any food in my system, and when I'm running on empty, I can be a real asshole."

"It's okay, I forgive you. I'm sorry too."

"For what?" his brow furrowed.

"For approaching you when I could tell you weren't in the mood to be bothered," Stephanie said. "When I was asking you questions, you were giving vague enough answers that I knew you wanted me to go away, but I kept pushing it, so it was partially my fault too."

"No worries," Chris shook his head. He paused to glance down at his buzzing iPhone and rolled his eyes slightly after reading the display, pressing the ignore button and meeting Stephanie's gaze once more. "I knew as soon as you started jogging away from me that you were Vince's daughter. For some reason, it didn't click with me until it was too late and then I tried to stop you, but I guess you didn't hear me."

"Oh, no, I heard, but I felt like an idiot and was trying to get out of there. I just hate that job so much, you know?"

"I hope not because of anything I said," Chris bit his lip as regret washed over his face.

"No, this decision has been a long time coming," she explained while he leaned up against the wall as they talked. "I went to L.A after I graduated from high school so I could be a model—not so I could be one of the paparazzi. It just kind of fell into my lap, but I've struggled with wanting a way out for a really long time, and when my dad finishes working tonight, I'm planning on asking him for a job. I don't know what will happen with me and my boyfriend, but I'm hoping it won't spell the end for us. I have a bad feeling it will, though."

"You can't think like that. If you want to make it work, you have to believe in your heart it will."

"Thanks."

"Besides, if he's smart, he wouldn't let go of a catch like you."

"Thank you, that's nice," Stephanie grinned, blushing wildly as Chris chuckled at her reaction. "That was really sweet of you to say."

"I'm just being honest."

"So, what about you?"

"What _about_ me?" he smirked.

"You've got a family, right?"

"I do—a wife and three kids."

"I envy you," Stephanie admitted, pouting at the thought of what life might be like had she gone down a different path and focused on having a family.

"Why?" Chris chewed his gum casually as he raised an eyebrow.

"I want to be married and have kids, but I spent so much time in L.A that it feels sort of late to just be starting out on the dating scene. I don't know that Joel and I will last, and if we don't, I'll have to start all over with finding someone I could spend the rest of my life with. I don't even know if anyone is out there for me, but I guess I'll find out."

"I don't know this Joel guy, but you've gotta make yourself happy. Do what's best for you, and he'll either be along for the ride or not, but at least you'll be doing what's in your best interest. Would you rather be happy and single, or miserable and with someone?"

"Definitely happy and single."

"That's what I figured," Chris replied, "so do what's best for you."

"Thanks, Chris."

"It's my pleasure," he grinned.

"You're much nicer when you're not being an overly aggressive rock star," she spoke tongue-in-cheek and Chris, not one to skimp on quick-wit, came right back at her.

"Well, you're much nicer when you're not a pesky photographer."


	4. Let Me Be Kind

A/N: I apologize for the removal of this chapter last night. I've been having issues with the website no longer allowing me to name each of my chapters, so I took it down to work on the issue but haven't found a solution yet. In the meantime, I figured I might as well put the chapter back up, since not being able to name it isn't exactly detrimental to anything, so here it is. Thanks for reading, guys!

* * *

The pair sat idly by, unmoving and wishing they had the ultimate power to turn back time and right all wrongs. Personal growth in the specific areas of composure, maturity, and ambition were expected in life, but Stephanie and Joel were suffering through the most difficult shift of all, in that they had grown apart somewhere along the way. They were two people who loved each other with passion and intensity, but their previously merged roads were splitting off in two different directions, and they had reached the most dreaded stretch of crossroads a relationship could arrive at. There was only one choice, but it wasn't simple by a long shot.

They could make a joint selection to travel a road together or, the more reasonable option, they could start moving down their own paths and grow into the adults they were always meant to be. Stephanie couldn't imagine continuing her life doing the type of work she was entangled in and, yet, she couldn't comprehend leaving Joel behind, either. He was her backbone, the one to make her smile when the chips were down, and leaving him to start a new life would be no easy task. Still, he didn't understand her needs, and his lack of trying to grasp her concerns was disheartening.

A part of her felt betrayed — left in the dust, even — and as she sat with a trembling hand and quivering bottom lip, she wondered if he felt it, too. Maybe he thought her flying to Connecticut and running into the arms of her parents was a cop-out, and, worse, perhaps he was right. It was Wednesday afternoon, only two days since she had requested her father take pity on her poor soul and extend a job offer, and Stephanie felt more conflicted than ever before. The bright day outside couldn't possibly have posed any more of a juxtaposition to their moods than it already did. Seeing the sun shining so soundly and sneaking in through the cracks in the blinds was a slap in the face for what was, in all actuality, a deeply morose day.

God, she hated the sun. The sun _and_ its stupid rays.

That morning, she had let herself into the house. Pulling her keys out of her purse, sticking the correct one in the lock, and pushing the door open by the handle felt so familiar. Even the smell of the living room when she crossed the threshold stirred feelings of comfort deep in her belly and put her right at home. Except, it wasn't home anymore. It couldn't be, no matter how vehemently she tried to convince herself otherwise.

Linda was in town for moral support, at Stephanie's request. She was off relaxing in her hotel suite, nary a care in the world, while Stephanie was working on formulating the words that would end the three-year relationship she had held so near and dear to her heart. To say it hurt felt like an understatement, but to say it killed her inside dramatized reality. The safest declaration she could make about the crumbling of the relationship she had put so much of her time and efforts into was that it had changed who she was, in both good ways and bad. Her life with Joel had brought her great pleasure, but it had also given her personality shades she didn't like to see. In a nutshell, she was jaded.

Her right hand scooted across her thigh until her pinky finger was pressed alongside Joel's. Stephanie rubbed the tip of her finger over his before linking their digits together as one. "This is going to hurt a lot, isn't it?"

Joel cleared his throat, drawing a long breath in and releasing it gradually before finding his previously missing voice. "It doesn't have to."

"I can't stay here and do this job anymore."

"Yeah, you already told me that," he replied, jerking his hand out of her grasp and turning away from her. He folded his arms across his chest as his breathing grew louder, more rapid, leaving him fighting for each frantic puff as he looked anywhere besides at her.

"I still love you, Joel."

"Do you?" he retorted.

"Listen," she held her hands in a defensive pose, "I get that you're hurt, but you don't get to treat me like trash. You're upset, but so am I, and I'd think you could be a little more supportive."

The mattress rebounded beneath Stephanie as he shot up from the bed, crossing the room and leaning against their dresser, all the while keeping his back turned. During the stunted phone conversation, in which she had alerted Joel she would be arriving to collect her belongings, he had sounded caught off-guard. Their breakup seemed imminent and had been discussed multiple times, but Joel's obvious shock to her call made Stephanie think he hadn't considered the impending doom of their relationship to be much of a threat at all. In times past, they had always been able to work their issues out as a team, and he had assumed this time would be no different.

Stephanie didn't want to be the one to break his heart and admit she had no intentions of changing her mind, but making a clean break was for the best. She let out a shaky breath and gazed heavenward, dabbing at her eyes with her fingertips when the beginnings of a few tears began their early decent down her cheeks. Seeing him standing alone, and likely feeling equally as solitary as he appeared, broke her heart in ways she couldn't put into words, and she slipped her arms around his waist after gliding up behind him. It began as a brisk tremor, then another, until Joel was crying silently in her arms, preparing himself to part with the only woman he had ever truly loved.

"Come here," she requested, tugging at his waist to turn him towards her, but Joel wasn't budging. He left his back showing, shuddering against Stephanie's abdomen as he held his hands over his face. Even in times of anguish, he was a proud man, unwilling to let even those closest to him see his pain. Joel had admitted to Stephanie on more than one occasion that he preferred to grieve alone. His hesitance to relent to her orders was proof of that fact. "Joel, I'm trying to make this easier, honey. Give me a hug."

"This isn't right," he managed to choke out.

"What isn't right?"

"You didn't even give me a chance to make this work. You just leave to visit your parents after not speaking to me for days, and now you come back to pack your stuff and break up with me? You don't even give a shit about us!"

"That's not true."

"Obviously it is."

The hurt behind his words was crystal clear, but the solution remained hidden among the mess their lack of communication had created. All Stephanie was left to do was mend what was broken. She latched onto his wrist and pulled until he took the hint and spun around in her arms, where she pulled him into an enveloping hug. "I don't want you to feel like I don't care about you. We didn't talk before I left for Connecticut, but I tried to have a discussion and you didn't want to. You ignored me the whole day before I left for the airport. It wasn't only me who was responsible for leaving on a bad note."

"I never said that, but if I mean anything to you, you wouldn't be leaving me like this," he mumbled into her shoulder, slipping his arms around her waist as he snuggled his face in the crook of her neck. His breathing tickled Stephanie's skin, and she smiled involuntarily at the sensation. "I don't want to be without you."

"I don't want to be without you, either."

"Then why are we breaking up?" Joel asked. Truth be told, Stephanie didn't have an answer for that. Not a good one, anyway. Distance could be a hindrance in a relationship, but it didn't have to spell the end if they weren't ready for it to.

"Because I have to go."

"Then go, but that doesn't mean you move away and don't ever talk to me again. There's lots of stuff we could do to stay close," he pointed out, snuggling even further into the cotton material of her shirt. "We can call each other and video chat, and it's not like I can't find the money to buy a plane ticket and come see you. I don't want us to be through with each other."

"You still want to be with me after all of this?" Stephanie asked, needing that extra bit of reassurance. Joel pulled away and met the depths of her eyes with his own as he placed each of his hands on her shoulders.

"You're the biggest love I've ever had in my life, and you should know that. I don't want you to even have to question it."

"So what do I do?"

"Be with me," he said.

Joel slid his hands gingerly down the length of her arms and clasped her hands in his own, rubbing them gently with his thumbs. Stephanie tried pulling away to wipe at the caked tears lingering on each of his cheeks, but he refused to relinquish his hold. He leaned forward, the tip of his nose touching down on hers, and gazed into her eyes until she broke a smile, one which he returned eagerly. She sighed in relief the second his lips landed on hers, and the palms of his hands came to rest on her backside while she placed her own on his hips, deepening their kiss.

They backed up towards the bed in a joint effort and fell onto it in a crumpled heap, laughing against each other's mouths. Stephanie slipped her hands underneath Joel's shirt and scratched lightly up and down the length of his back. Witnessing Joel's optimism for their relationship working out for the best made her realize their love was bigger than the scope any physical distance could cover. The method with which they made it work was insignificant, because all that was relevant was that they would indeed make it through, by any means necessary.

Stephanie thought back to her mother waiting in her hotel room and briefly wondered if she should give her a call and let her know she wouldn't return for a while, but Joel wasn't letting go of her anytime soon. The thought of Linda was swept from her mind as his kisses migrated from her lips to the base of her neck, and she closed her eyes, enjoying his warm mouth on her body as he reached for her shirt and slipped it off of her. At last, she was back in his arms, where she belonged from the beginning. Stephanie could only hope their making up was simply the calm and not the calm before a major storm. Being together was only half of the battle.

The other half was _staying_ together.

Like any decent couple, Joel and Stephanie weren't above making monumental sacrifices for one another, and this time proved no different. By Saturday, a mere matter of days after Stephanie returned to Greenwich with Linda, Joel went to join her on the east coast, even going so far as putting a massive down payment on a modest home near Stephanie's parents. If he had to give up his life as an L.A photographer to hold onto the woman he loved, he was willing to step up to the plate. The decision became even more simplified when Stephanie had a talk with Vince and secured a backstage job for Joel.

They lay in bed together that afternoon, wrapped in each other's arms after making up for what felt like the hundredth time. Stephanie's head rested atop Joel's chest as he stroked her hair and they each fought to catch their breath. The bedroom was cluttered with unopened boxes they had arranged to have shipped to their new home from California, and now all that was left to do was sell their old house, although Joel was toying with the idea of keeping it since it was almost paid in full. He figured having two homes could come in handy for whenever they wanted to vacation near the west coast. He kissed the top of Stephanie's head to get her attention, and she glanced up, grinning.

"This is the best part of arguing," she admitted.

"Making up?" he asked knowingly, at which she nodded. "Yeah, I think so, too. Let's argue some more."

"I don't love it _that _much," she giggled, holding him closer. "What do you think about working with me? I know we were doing it before, but this is going to be a completely new environment."

"Well, I've already told you wrestling isn't really my thing and I don't have much of an interest in it, but it should be cool, I guess," he deduced. "Vince is at least giving me a chance with this job, so I want to do my best no matter how I feel about it."

Stephanie frowned and tipped her head to peek up at him. "You say that as if you already know you won't like it."

"No, it's not that. I just don't care about wrestling," Joel said. "There's nothing appealing to me about a bunch of sweaty, oily guys rolling around together in a ring. I don't see the appeal."

"Whatever you do, don't say anything like that while we're at work. You'll offend the guys."

"Sure, whatever," he rolled his eyes. Stephanie sighed, letting his words slide, but not without putting in a conscious effort to keep mum on the issue. Whenever Joel was flippant about something important to her, it hurt her feelings. She tried not to minimize the things he cared about, and for him to extend the same courtesy in return would have been nice, but she didn't want to fall right back into a fight after they had only just made up again.

"Hey, you be good, mister."

"Oh, all right already, I will," he agreed.

Stephanie had held Joel's words at face value, but with Monday's show around the corner, the proof would be in his actions. Vince, thrilled to have her working alongside him, snatched Stephanie up right away when she arrived at Raw and brought her to his production table when the show was almost set to start. He had given her the job of tracking the scheduled durations for each match and notifying the referees through a headset when it was time for them to end the match. Her orders were transmitted through her headset's microphone, into the plug secured in the referee's ear, and manifested as a brief whisper from referee to superstar when they were given the request to work to a finish.

It was a big job, and her attention to detail was necessary in order for the show to run smoothly. Stephanie was trembling with nerves, so much so that Vince's placed his hand on her shoulder, rubbing it gently while he barked orders to the announcers at ringside. He made his work look so easy, but being thrust in the center of it, Stephanie was discovering her job was much more difficult than initially met the eye. Joel didn't have an official title yet, nor did Stephanie, but Vince had told him to assist Stephanie in whatever she needed. The only issue to be found in that was that Joel ended up doing nothing at all because Stephanie rebuffed each of his attempts to help, too engrossed in her work for any type of distraction.

The hours sped by, and she found herself disappointed when the show closed to a dramatic end. Peeling the headset from her ears, she glanced over to find Vince beaming proudly at her as he slipped an arm around both of her shoulders. "Like father, like daughter, huh?"

"I think so," she smiled. "Did you think I was good?"

"You were excellent, and especially for your first time behind the table," Vince said, glancing around before leaning in close. "I didn't let Shane even attempt the job duties I gave you today until he had been working under me for a full year. You're a natural."

"Whoa, that makes me feel really good."

"You should be very proud of yourself, princess," Vince kissed her forehead. His darting pupils swept the area behind Stephanie, and he raised an eyebrow, prompting her to check on what had caught his attention. She followed his gaze to the empty chair behind her, and suddenly his curiosity made sense. Joel had disappeared at some point, without either of their knowledge, and chances were it wasn't for any work-related reasons. "Where did Joel head off to?"

"Honestly," Stephanie paused, rubbing the back of her neck, "I didn't notice he was gone. I was so into what I was doing that I had tunnel vision. I didn't see anyone or anything around me. Is it always this intense working for you, or am I only like this because it's my first time?"

"I like to think it's always like this. You just have to remember that when you work for me, you laugh just as hard as you work. There's a time to be serious, which is when the show's going on, but when we're in meetings, that's when the real magic happens," he explained, rubbing his chin between his thumb and forefinger. "I think I might need to pull you into some creative meetings this weekend so you can get a feel for how they run. If your work here tonight is any indication of how you'll adapt, I think I've got a genius on my hands. Welcome to the company."

"Thanks, Dad," she smiled. Stephanie tossed her arms around him, kissing his cheek after she pulled away from their embrace. "I'm so glad you gave me a chance to do this. I think I really might end up liking it a lot."

"I think you will, too."

A flash of blond caught Stephanie's eyes, and she turned her head sharply, biting her lip and struggling to hold in a sigh when her eyes met Lance Cade's. From her peripheral vision, she almost could have mistaken him for... "Is Chris here tonight?"

"Chris Jericho?" Vince asked, watching her through a set of narrowed eyes.

"Yeah."

"What's your business with him?"

"Business?" Stephanie asked. She smiled in an attempt to cut through the tension. "I don't even really know him. I was just curious if he was around. He's a really nice guy."

"What's going on with you two? Why do you need to talk if you don't know each other?" Vince continued, firing questions of in quick succession. "What did he have to talk to you about last week?"

"Nothing, Daddy."

"Don't 'nothing Daddy' me."

"What do you want to know?" she quizzed.

"What did he come all the way here to see you for?"

"Just to say hi. It was no big deal," she said, rising from her seat and stretching her arms before looking around at the dwindling numbers of people as they began trickling out of their locker rooms and into the parking lot to leave for the night. "So, Chris won't be here next week?"

"I'll tell you when you tell me what you want with him."

"All right, I guess I won't find out then. I'll meet you back here in 15 minutes so we can leave," Stephanie rushed out.

Vince scowled at her smirk, and she blew him a playful kiss before venturing down the hall in search of Joel. She was stopped plenty of times along the way, everyone wanting to congratulate her on a job well done. Vince had told anyone who would listen during the show that Stephanie was in charge, and she received high praise, even from those who she had expected to be her biggest critics. It felt good to have a job she was skilled at with little need for practice and, finally, she felt like she might be finding her place in the world and making a real mark.

There were few things in life she gave herself credit for being talented at, but being involved with the wrestling business was one of them. It was in her blood, something she was destined to do, and she only wished she wouldn't have shied away from it to begin with. She could have completed college and went straight into the family business, but the past couldn't be changed, and all she could do was learn from it. She could never completely reconsider her decision to move to California because, if she did, she would be wishing away having met Joel, and she couldn't imagine a life without him.

Rounding a corner and stepping over several lines of thick cords taped to the ground, all of which led into the back of a set of TV monitors, Stephanie spotted Joel sitting in a fold-up chair. His back was to her and he was on his cell phone, probably catching up with his family to let them know about the latest developments in his life. While he shouldn't, technically, have left the table during his shift, Stephanie couldn't completely blame him for it, because he hadn't been given much of a job to do with her taking over the reins. She noted inwardly to make a conscious effort the following week to include Joel in everything going on at the main table. He was making a huge sacrifice for her, so she wanted him to feel included in the overall process.

A smile was already spreading on her face as she lifted her finger to tap his shoulder, but an air of frustration in his tone alerted her to his testy mood, and she pulled back. As much as she didn't want to resort to eavesdropping, her basic instincts kicked in and she sneaked up behind him, listening in on his end of the conversation. He sat hunched forward in his seat, left elbow resting on his left thigh while he shook his head vigorously and ranted about his first evening on the job. She continued listening, willing to overlook his telling the person on the other end of the line that his decision to move to Connecticut was a big mistake, and she was even willing to cut him some slack for stating that he hated working for the WWE.

There was, however, no excuse for what he said next.

For his threatening to tuck tail and run out on her.

No excuse at all.


End file.
